Lawmaker Admits Alcohol Abuse

Mcpherson Apologizes Publicly, Says He Will Get Help

TALLAHASSEE — In a voice quaking with emotion, Sen. Tom McPherson acknowledged Tuesday he has a drinking problem, apologized for his recent conduct and said he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse.

Standing on the Senate floor after making a rare procedural request to address his colleagues, the Fort Lauderdale Democrat read a two-page statement asking for their forgiveness.

Pausing frequently to maintain his composure, McPherson, 54, told the hushed chamber he deserved criticism for mishandling a committee meeting last week while in a mood many believe was influenced by alcohol.

McPherson also apologized for threatening to fire a toll supervisor after he got stuck in traffic last month on Florida's Turnpike near Wildwood. He sent letters of apology Monday to the supervisor and two of her employees.

On the Senate floor, McPherson specifically apologized to Sen. Vince Bruner, D-Fort Walton Beach, for being rude to the freshman lawmaker last Tuesday while the two were debating a bill.

Then he asked for his colleagues' support.

''In trying to analyze my actions in recent weeks, I find now in finally being totally honest with myself that those actions follow a pattern that began quite some time ago, that I was either unable or unwilling to recognize,'' McPherson said, adding that he does not know the extent of his drinking problem.

''In order for me to continue to be an effective member . . . I am going to need a lot of help,'' he said. ''I'm going to need your help. I'm going to need my family's help. And I'm going to need the help also from professionals who specialize in helping individuals who, for whatever reason, have come to develop an overdependency on alcohol.''

After he spoke, McPherson sat down. Legislators applauded him and then rushed to shake his hand. Sen. Jeanne Malchon, D-St. Petersburg, hugged him.

Senate President Bob Crawford, D-Winter Haven, praised McPherson's decision to get help and said he would not remove him from his chairmanship of the Natural Resources Committee.

''I think his statement speaks for itself,'' Crawford said. ''It took a great deal of courage. I'm confident he will do exactly what he said he will do.''

McPherson met with an alcohol abuse specialist Tuesday afternoon to get an evaluation for a treatment program. McPherson's aide, Charlotte Mather, said the program would not interfere with his legislative duties. He planned to be back at work today to chair his committee.

McPherson refused to discuss what kind of treatment program he would undergo. ''That's between me and my doctor.''

Crawford said he did not order McPherson to seek treatment or apologize for his actions. Former Democratic Sen. Frank Mann of Fort Myers, a longtime friend and drinking buddy of McPherson's, said Crawford asked him last week to persuade McPherson to get help. Mann and McPherson often worked together on environmental issues and held after-hours cocktail parties in their legislative offices in the Capitol.

Mann said he talked to McPherson Tuesday morning and was ''the last gentle push'' in convincing McPherson that he was jeopardizing his legislative career if he did not get help.

''There were pretty strong words with a lot of tears between two grown men,'' Mann said. ''We talked about priorities of his. . . . everything he has put his life into for the last 20 years that were in jeopardy because of his inability to grasp it head on.''

The controversy arose April 11 when Crawford had the Senate sergeant-at-arms temporarily remove McPherson from his committee meeting to ask if he had been drinking. Another senator had complained McPherson was being too rowdy and was insulting other members and the audience.

McPherson denied he had been drinking but later announced he would end the cocktail parties, which Rep. Anne Mackenzie began serving as co-host when Mann left the Senate.

Mackenzie, D-Fort Lauderdale, said she has asked McPherson on occasion to limit his drinking. She said McPherson got a medical checkup last weekend and was told his drinking was contributing to a thyroid problem that had caused him to lose 30 pounds in the past two months.

He also had been dieting, she said. ''He apparently was eating only about 500 calories a day.''

Lawmakers said the controversy has changed attitudes about drinking in the Capitol. House Speaker Tom Gustafson, D-Fort Lauderdale, has asked members not to drink on state property.

''Up to now he McPherson has been in a state of denial rather than admission,'' said Sen. Dick Langley, R-Clermont. ''If this keeps liquor out of the state Capitol, it'll be good.''